Of Chance and Circumstance
by fasterfollies
Summary: There are a million different timelines in which they are destined to be together. This is just another one of them. - Anakin, Padme. Modern, Alternate Universe -


_I might make some people hate me with this story, but I've been wanting to pen this idea for forever. Blame my obsessive brain._

 _If I could have added a third genre category I would have labeled this story as 'drama' as well. High drama. Just give it some time to kick off. You've been warned._

 _Lastly, I would like to say that this story will jump around in time. I'm letting you know this so you don't get whiplash between certain chapters. I don't want to be sued._

 _Enough of my foolishness, on with the story!_

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 **Of Chance and Circumstance**

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The world never felt as surreal as it did that day. What made it so strange, Anakin thought, was the silence. Although he and his family lived in a rural area on the outskirts of the city, he'd grown accustomed to the sounds of life and civilization. Birds singing and dogs barking, cars driving by, music blaring inconsiderately from nearby houses, and friendly neighbors discussing mundane, grown-up topics on their front lawns. All those familiar sounds had disappeared, muted by the muffled, static hiss of falling snow. The animals had sought shelter and warmth, cars gathered snow in their driveways, and people sat by their fires. Anakin was too young then – having just celebrated his ninth birthday – to fully appreciate the peace of that winter afternoon, but as he'd grow to discover, it wasn't a day that he'd forget. His warm, comfortable boots crunched through the snow as he ran out into the frost-covered cul-de-sac blinking away flakes of snow that had already begun to land on his face.

"Be careful, Anakin!" Shmi, his mother, called after him. "And don't go past the sign!"

Many times he'd been warned not to go alone any further than the sign at the end of the street. It was large and elaborately decorated with flowers, and hard to miss. Beautiful, cursive writing at the center spelled out the name of their cul-de-sac: Crescent Coruscant. Much to the dismay of his mother, however, he often managed to "accidentally" fail to see it.

"Okay, mom!" he called over his shoulder in reply, but as soon as he heard the front door shut he knew he was free to roam to his heart's content.

It was difficult to see through the veiling snow, but a quick glance around told him nobody else was out. Normally he'd have prowled the surrounding areas for small adventures or played with some of the other kids of the neighborhood, but the snow came so seldom here that he had no desire to stray far from home. He spooned a fistful of the white slush into his hands and began to assemble the base of his snowman.

It didn't take long for him to complete it. The end result left Anakin frustrated and a little dissatisfied, but he was proud at least that he managed to do it by himself. He was just adding the finishing touches to the face when he heard a soft murmur coming from a house a few doors down from his, snatching away his attention. Squinting against the snow he saw two figures talking in the doorway of their house, one much shorter than the other and around Anakin's own height, if not a little taller than him. A woman and a young girl. They were barely more than silhouettes etched into the white, but he knew who they were. Although he'd never spoken to them, he'd glimpsed the family in passing, and his mother had made small talk with them from time-to-time. He struggled to recall their name, but heard his mother's contralto voice in his head remind him, echoing the reply she gave when he'd first asked her about them some weeks ago. _"Oh, those are the Naberries. They're new around here, so be nice to them, okay, Ani?"_

The prospect of making new friends was now far more exciting to him than attempting to construct a snowman alone. He was glad to see others enjoying the weather, and more importantly it meant he could get a helping hand building his second snowman. He dashed over to the duo, catching his foot on the buried curb and just stopping himself from tripping face-first into the ground a few meters from them.

"Oh dear! Are you okay, young man?" The taller woman yelped, moving to help.

"Yes," Anakin replied with a daft grin, collecting himself.

"I don't think we've been introduced yet. My name's Jobal," she said, crouching down to eye-level. "What's your name?"

"Anakin Skywalker," He said proudly before hesitating for a moment, unsure now as to whether they were in fact the family he thought they were, and worried he had been mistaken. "Um. Are you Mrs Naberrie?"

Jobal laughed at that. "Yes, I am. We just moved here, so I'm surprised you already know who we are! This is my daughter Padme." She turned to address young girl behind her. "Come and say hello, Padme."

The girl seemed slightly reluctant to approach and more interested in the small book clutched between her wool mittens. She can't have been more than a few years older than Anakin, but she held herself almost like an adult. She gave a curt, polite greeting. "Nice to meet you, Anakin."

"Do you want to come make a snowman with me?" Anakin asked them both, ignorant to the notion of idle chat and eager to play. Besides, he fancied himself somewhat of a snowman expert at this point. "I made one earlier. I can show you how to do it if you want?"

"I'm afraid I'm not very good at it, but I'm sure Padme would like to help. Go on, Padme," Jobal urged, taking the young girl's book. "Why don't you go play with Anakin for a little bit?"

Padme didn't say anything, but she nodded and followed the boy to an unspoiled area of snow. Kneeling together in the snow, Anakin immediately began teaching her all the things he'd learnt about building snowmen in the past ten minutes. Much to her surprise, Padme found herself enjoying his liveliness, and before long they were chatting with the familiarity of brother and sister. Upon its completion, the pair admired their creation, Anakin in particular noting how much better it was than his earlier solo attempt.

"What should we name it?" he asked.

Padme hummed aloud, pensive, and taking the matter very seriously. "What about Dorothy?"

"That's a girl's name! It's a boy!" The whole notion of a female snowman was preposterous to Anakin, and he let it be known. It appeared that he had met his match with the girl, however, and the duo spent the remainder of their time there arguing over names, genders, and all the little things adolescents talk about – one might say that these friendship-forging disputes lasted long into their adult lives.

It was a good day, Anakin thought. And judging from the girl's bright smile as she left for her door once more, he believed she thought so too.

And it was on that day that two very different people became life-long companions.

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 _That's the end of the prologue. Please review!_


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